Girl In The Mirror
by Miquie Li
Summary: Set after Chosen. A one-shot? fic about an awakened Slayer and her questions and reflections of her weary life. It's not that involved but the writing is decent. PLEASE REVIEW!


**Girl In The Mirror**

**Prologue: Set after "Chosen". All the Potential Slayers have been activated. This is a look into the mind of a Slayer who doesn't know she's a Slayer.**

I never asked to be this way. I never asked to be different. If anything all I've ever wanted is to just to get through my life with as little pain as possible. I never asked for this life, for this responsibility. All I want is just to be normal. Why can't I be normal?

I close my eyes and sigh. How pathetic am I? I'm at a party and all I can do is sit to the side and bitch about my life. When did I get to be so pitiful? Isn't this what I came to_ not_ do? My friends and I always come around here, every weekend, down to San Francisco's Warehouse District. Every weekend, there's a rave thrown in one of the many empty warehouses. Here, I'm just any other teenager looking for a good party. I'm like anyone else here. Hundreds of us, just looking to escape the world for a night. Everyone's happy and smiling. Everything here is perfect. As if the world outside feels just as beautiful as it does in here.

I walk to the dance floor. I came to party and that's what I'm going to do. I make my way to the center of crowd and I surrender to the music. I dance. I close my eyes, but through my eyelids I can still see the flashing lights dancing across the dance floor. The music pounds through my head. The driving beat pulsates until it becomes like my own heartbeat. The bass vibrates through me, until it become the rhythm my body follows. I can feel my blood course through my veins to the synthesized electronic beat. I love to dance, especially in the center of the floor. It's like being at the center of the universe, where the stars are so close and so far away at the same time. I love how it makes me feel so alive. Or how it used to make me feel so alive. I open my eyes. The lights, the music, the people… There's something missing. I don't know what but I can sense the void. Damnit. I can't even party right. I sigh and make my way out of the crowd. My heart is still racing from the dancing and I'm a little sweaty. I lean my back against the wall and take a deep breath. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Hey," I snap my head to the left. A girl, a bit shorter than me, in a red wig and white raver overalls was looking at me. She has to shout to be heard over the music. "Don't I know you?" My heart skips a beat.

"I don't think so," I say hesitantly.

"Yeah, you're Senator Torres' kid." Shit. "What's your name?"

"Melinda," I reply timidly. This is the first time anyone has ever recognized me. I decide against just running away. That would be too rude.

"I'm Jennifer. I've seen you around these things before and I've been trying to figure where I know you from all night." I stay quiet. I don't know what to say. It's obvious to Jennifer because she then says, "Are you okay? You look a little tense." I give her a weak smile.

"Just got a lot on my mind."

"Don't we all?" She nods to the crowd before us. She's right. I'm hiding. I know that. We all are. It didn't start out that way. I came to these things to have fun, to dance and just have a good time with my friends. Then it turned into wanting to be a part of something that wasn't a part of my other life, my father's life. A life of parties filled with politicians, public appearances, schmoozing and smiling. It got real old real quick. That was just the beginning of my problems. Now, these raves were all about the escape. I wasn't the only one either. I could see the others escaping right along with me. We used the music, the lights, the energy, the Ecstasy... Sometimes it takes more than the music to escape our lives. I can sense Jennifer staring at me. I look back at her.

"I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a minute?" I shout over the din. She nods and smiles at me. I smile back. She's a nice girl.

The music is still pounding like a heartbeat. It will until the sun begins to rise. I look down at my shoes as I walk away. They're white sneakers with bright blue laces. The glitter on my arms flashes in the light. I stand up. Where is the restroom? I scan the room. There it is. I walk in and its dark. I flick the switch on and the room is bathed in annoying fluorescent light. My reflection in the mirror… its different. I can't exactly pinpoint why the girl in the mirror looks so different, but she does. The girl in the mirror used to make me smile. Her hair made her look like a mermaid. Her black and blue long hair would ripple around her face. There were small braids placed throughout her hair. She used to be pretty. She used to smile like a kid. Her eyes would twinkle with laughter. Now she looked at me with confusion and concern.

I remember when she began to look different. It was after the first night of the nightmares. Nightmares of blood, of the dark, of monsters that I've never seen in any movie or book. I don't know where they came from all I know is that I have those nightmares every night. I look back at the girl in the mirror. I gave her a weak smile. I didn't know what to say.

I'm sorry," I say out loud to the girl in the mirror. "I don't know what's going on."

"_It's okay,"_ she replies to my slight surprise, _"I'm not really sure either." _

"I missed you."

"_I missed you too."_

"Where did you go?"

"_I don't know. I was sent away, I just don't know where." _I pause for a moment.

"I didn't ask for this."

_"Who does?"_ She always has answers. It's one of the things I like about her so much.

"What's happening to me?" The girl in the mirror raises her eyebrows.

_"You know what's happening. The truth, the power, it's all inside you. You just have to know where to look."_

"When did you get so smart?"

_"When did you get so dumb?" _We laughed. She always did make me laugh. I sighed as a sense of truth began to wash over me. Something had happened. Something was happening. Something was coming. We could both feel it. I look up at her. We smile at one another. We know we can get through it. After all, we have each other now.

A/N: Okay, that was it. I would love it if you all could review to tell me if it sucked beyond reason or just sucked a little. Thanks!


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